Reporter's Notebook: School Committee Tackles New Roof, Upgrade Plans at Middle School

Facing no opposition, the goals of Weston Superintendent Cheryl Maloney were approved this past week by the Weston School Committee, which included providing parents the opportunity for feedback and an initiative to replace the 30-year-old roof of Weston Middle School.

Maloney also proposed replacing telephone lines and piloting online learning opportunities for faculty. At the same time, she recommended consolidating database management and creating a disaster recovery plan for technology. She also indicated that plans were in the works to replace the 50-year-old high school boiler and upgrade the middle school pool. Conservation projects for water and paper were also discussed.

According to her report, Maloney intends to continue the high school science lab project, including sprinklers, and partner with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to move ahead with renovating the Field School.

The meeting also included a presentation by Assistant Superintendent Amber Bock on the program review process evaluation, which will begin again this year after it was suspended for the 2009-2010 school year. The goal, according to Bock, was to reflect on the current process and to explore "new best practices."

These changes include a "more rigorous internal process of self study" prior to internal review, along with improved communication and data gathering, said Bock.

Her group came to the conclusion that it must sustain all components of the external review process as well as keep up the practice of yearly review. Bock suggested members of the committee conduct site visits to other school systems, and said the external review committee should "prioritize recommendations with an awareness of budget implications."

Bock suggested that there would be enhanced communication by establishing an individual web page for each program review so that meeting minutes and teacher survey questions and data can be shared.